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Occam's Razor...

  • Thread starter Thread starter So
  • Start date Start date
So

So

Lifer
"Pluralitas non est ponenda sine neccesitate" or "plurality should not be posited without necessity." The words are those of the medieval English philosopher and Franciscan monk William of Ockham (ca. 1285-1349).

http://skepdic.com/occam.html

In his writings, Occam stressed the Aristotelian principle that entities must not be multiplied beyond what is necessary.

http://zebu.uoregon.edu/~js/glossary/occams_razor.html

Anyone have a clearer explanation? Trying to explain the principle to the scientifically uneducated secretary here.
 
In general, favor a simpler solution/explanation over a complex one if both fit a given scenario.
 
"plurality should not be posited without necessity."
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This is still the clearest statement I've ever seen for it...

I thought your post was a joke... 'what's the simplest way to explain that "the simplest adequate solution is preferred"?'
 
Originally posted by: 3chordcharlie
"plurality should not be posited without necessity."
Click to expand...

This is still the clearest statement I've ever seen for it...

I thought your post was a joke... 'what's the simplest way to explain that "the simplest adequate solution is preferred"?'
Click to expand...

Glad someone else thought it was a joke too. 😀
 
Originally posted by: Entity
Originally posted by: 3chordcharlie
"plurality should not be posited without necessity."
Click to expand...

This is still the clearest statement I've ever seen for it...

I thought your post was a joke... 'what's the simplest way to explain that "the simplest adequate solution is preferred"?'
Click to expand...

Glad someone else thought it was a joke too. 😀
Click to expand...

🙂
 
Originally posted by: So
Originally posted by: Taggart
What movie was that in?
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It's an ancient axiom, long predating cinema.
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Yeah I know it's ancient, but the first time I heard about it was in a movie...thanks to those who knew it was in Contact 🙂
 
OCKHAM's Razor is a theory which has been abused by many people. It should not be summarized as the "Of two equivalent theories or explanations, all other things being equal, the simpler one is to be preferred." That removes it from its metaphysical context and allows this theory to be expanded into other realms, where it may not necessarily function as intended.

If I can remember my medieval philosophy course correctly (awful class), the purpose was to solve the Greek philosophers' problem of the "one and the many" - in other words, whether a unifying force or substance exists which connects all human beings - i.e. a 'form' of human to encompass all human beings. Essentially, what this would do is create a number of metaphysical identities - all the people in the world, plus one more assuming the form of human being (unifying them all).

Edit: It may not have been clear in my post that Ockham's attack was on people that were trying to explain a certain metaphysical conception of the world, NOT trying to explain a scientific theory.
 
Originally posted by: MadCowDisease
OCKHAM's Razor is a theory which has been abused by many people. It should not be summarized as the "Of two equivalent theories or explanations, all other things being equal, the simpler one is to be preferred." That removes it from its metaphysical context and allows this theory to be expanded into other realms, where it may not necessarily function as intended.

If I can remember my medieval philosophy course correctly (awful class), the purpose was to solve the Greek philosophers' problem of the "one and the many" - in other words, whether a unifying force or substance exists which connects all human beings - i.e. a 'form' of human to encompass all human beings.
Click to expand...

It's true that KISS is an over-bearing version of the razor; it is intended as a simple tool for evaluating thoeries; if a theory is needlessly complex, it stands to reason that the complexities are needless.
 
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